S  P  EEC  H 


OF 


HON.  ISAAC  I.  STEVENS, 


OF  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY, 


OX  THE 


INDIAN  WAR  EXPENSES 


OF 


WASHINGTON  AND  OREGON. 


DELIVERED 


IN    THE    HOUSE    OF    REPRESENTATIVES, 


FEBRUARY  21,  1859. 


WASHINGTON: 

BY    LEMUEL    TOWBBS 
1859. 


SPEECH 


OF 


HON.  ISAAC  I.  STEVENS, 

OF  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY, 

OX  THE 

I^^  W^JR  EXPENSES 

OF 

WASHINGTON  AND  OREGON, 


DELIVERED  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  FEBRUARY  21,  1S59. 

The  House  being  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union — Mr.  I. 
I.  STEVENS  said: 

At  th«  last  session  of  Congress,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  presented  some  observations  in 
reference  to  the  war  debt  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  In  those  observations,  I  en 
deavored  to  show  that  the  calling  out  of  the  volunteers,  by  the  Governors  of  these 
Territories,  was  a  matter  of  public  and  imperative  necessity.  I  also  endeavored  to 
show  that  their  operations  were,  as  a  general  thing,  managed  with  judgment  and 
economy.  I  did  not,  until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  expect  that  I  should 
trouble  either  the  House  or  the  Committee  with  any  further  observations  on  this 
question.  But  Congress,  at  its  last  session,  failed  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter 
of  these  war  debts,  and  the  Committee  on  Military  Affaire  did  not  even  make  a 
report.  During  the  present  session  there  has  been  action  to  n  certain  extent;  for 
during  the  recess  of  Congress  an  examination  was  made  of  these  claims  by  one  of 
the  auditing  bureaus  of  the  Government ;  and  a  report  upon  these  claims  has  been 
made  by  the  Auditor,  submitted  to  this  House,  and  referred  to  the  Military  Commit 
tee.  The  Military  Committee,  founding  their  action  on  this  report,  have  adopted 
resolutions  which  have  received  the  sanction  of  this  House,  referring  the  whole 
matter  back  again  to  the  same  Auditor,  with  instructions  to  reaudit  the  accounts,  to 
reduce  the  prices  for  supplies,  transportation,  <fcc.,  to  the  cash  prices  of  the  country, 
the  pay  of  the  volunteers  to  that  of  the  regular  service,  and  in  no  case  to  allow  more 
than  $200  for  the  value  of  a  horse  lost  or  killed  in  service,  no  matter  how  much  its  ap 
praised  value  on  the  muster  rolls,  or  its  cash  value  in  that  country,  may  exceed  that 
sum.  The  Third  Auditor  is  to  ascertain  the  amount  due  under  these  reductions,  and 
is  directed  to  report  to  Congress  at  the  commencement  of  its  next  session. 

Before  entering  further  upon  this  question,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  congratulate  that 
distant  country,  that  I  congratulate  my  own  constituents,  that  we  have  made  one 
step  forward  in  this  business — for  it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  there  was  a  war 
raging  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  and  that  that  war  spread  from  the  forty-second 
to^the  forty-ninth  parallel,  and  from  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  to  a  great  distance  in 
the  interior.  This  fact  has  been  admitted  generally  by  members  of  the  Committee 
on  Military  Affairs,  by  members  of  both  branches  of  Congress,  by  the  officers  of  the 
Army,  and  by  the  civil  officers  serving  in  those  Territories  ;  that  the  war  threatened 
the  very  existence  of  the  settlements,  spread  rapine  and  massacre  over  many  dis 
tricts,  and  could  only  be  checked  and  ended,  by  the  promptest  organization,  and 
the  most  decisive  handling  of  the  citizen  soldiery  of  the  country. 

There  is,  indeed,  one  notable  exception.  The  gentleman  from  New  York,  (Mr, 
OLIN,)  the  other  day,  was  bold  enough  to  take  ground  very  different  from  that ;  and, 
in  the  remarks  wTiich  he  submitted  to  the  House,  he  stated  that,  if  certain  facts  were 
known,  Congress  would  not  pay  one  cent  of  the  debt  incurred.  These  are  his  words: 


"  I  wish  to  say  that  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  this  report,  and  I  can  state,  from  Hi 
own  observation,  that  it  contains  such  an  exposition  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  these  Oregon  an 
Washington  claims,  that  if  it  were  placed  before  the  House,  they  would,  in  my  judgment,  prouounc 
a  judgment  of  condemnation  upon  the  whole  transaction." 

The  gentleman,  in  making  that  remark,  has  outheroded  Herod.  He  has  outwoole< 
Wool — for  Gen.  Wool  himself  has  recommended,  in  his  official  reports,  the  payment  c 
a  portion  of  these  claims.  Gen.  Wool  has  not  denied  that  there  was  a  war  in  souther: 
Oregon,,  which  made  the  service  of  volunteers  indispensable;  nor  has  he  denied  tha 
there  was  a  war  on  Puget's  Sound,  which  made  it  the  duty  of  the  authorities  to  cal 
out  volunteers.  On  the  contrary,  he  has  admitted,  as  I  understand,  that  both  i: 
southern  Oregon  and  on  Puget's  Sound,  the  services  of  the  volunteers  were  indu 
pensable.  The  gentleman  from  New  York  ha's  a  certain  memoir  in  his  mind,  o 
which  he  relies  to  establish  his  conclusion — not  simply  a  memoir,  but  a  topographic^ 
memoir — the  memoir  of  Capt.  Thomas  Jefferson  Cram,  of  the  army.  He  has  state 
that,  if  that  memoir  were  published,  it  would  convince  all  men  that  this  claim  is 
fraud  on  the  Government,  and  ought  not  to  be  sanctioned  by  Congress.  He  als 
says  he  has  read  that  topographical  memoir.  So  have  I.  It  is  a  public  documer 
on  the  files  of  the  Department,  open  to  inspection.  A  topographical  memoir  is 
memoir  descriptive  of  the  country,  of  its  routes,  its  navigable  streams,  and  its  gre« 
avenues  of  communication,  and  should  particularize  all  the  facts  which  will  enabl 
you  to  decide  how  troops  and  supplies  shall  be  moved.  That  which  purports  to  b 
a  topographical  memoir  is,  in  large  part,  made  up  of  an  account  of  the  voluntee 
operations  and  of  the  treaty  operations  in  that  country.  I  find  that  in  it  there  h« 
been  brought  together  all  the  flying,  scandalous  rumors,  that  were  propagate 
throughout  that  country  in  the  winter  of  1855-'56.  When  I  said  to  that  gentl< 
man  that  I  desired  the  publication  of  that  report,  I  said  it  with  deliberation  an 
judgment,  because  I  think  that  the  publication  of  that  report  will  put  a  potei 
weapon  in  our  hands  to  convince  Congress  that  this  debt  is  just,  and  ought  to  I 
pai  i.  I,  of  course,  do  not  accuse  Capt.  Crarn  of  any  intention  to  misrepresent,  bi; 
its  errors  of  statement  are  so  glaring,  and  are  so  opposed  to  all  the  received  fad 
at  tha»present  time,  that  it  will  have  no  weight  whatever. 

Why,  sir,  in  this  topographical  memoir  he  has  inveighed  against  the  treaties  mad 
with  the  Indians  in  that  counry.  He  has  made  statements  to  establish  which  h 
cannot  bring  forward  a  tittle  of  evidence;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  evidence  ; 
overwhelming  and  conclusive  to  establish  the  very  contrary,  ar*d  thereby  he  hi 
arrayed  himself  against  all  the  officers  in  service  in  that  country,  for  as  tiie  matt( 
has  been  examined  the  officers  of  the  army,  who  once  were  opposed  to  those  treatie 
now  insist  that  they  shall  be  confirmed  as  the  first  condition  of  peace  and  trauqxiilit 
there.  In  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  at  this  session,  you  will  find  the  urgei 
and  strong  recommendation  of  Brigadier  General  Clark,  who  was  in  command  < 
the  department  of  the  Pacific  during  the  recent  hostilities,  urging  upon  the  Goven 
ment  the  confirmation  of  those  very  treaties  denounced  in  this  topographical  memo 
of  Captain  Cram.  Hear  what  General  Clark  &ays: 

""Some  time  since  I  was  persnaded  that  the  treaties  made  by  Governor  Stevens,  Superintende 
of  Indian  Affairs  for  those  Territories,  with  the  Indian  tribes  east  of  the  Cascade  range,  should  n 
foe  confirmed.  Since  then  circumstances  have  changed,  and  with  them  my  views. 

"  The  Indians  made  war  and  were  subdued ;  by  the  former  act  they  lost  some  of  their  claims 
consideration,  and  by  the  latter  the  Government  is  enabled  and  justified  in  taking  such  steps  as  ms 
give  the  best  security  for  the  future. 

"  The  gold  discovered  in  the  north  in  the  past  year  will  carry  a  large  emigration  along  the  fo 
hills  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Cascades,  and  not  improbably  gold  will  be  mined  from  every  strea 
issuing  from  these  mountains. 

"This  emigration  must  graze  and  cultivate  the  valleys  of  these  rivers,  or  draw  supplies  from  loi 
distances  at  great  expense,  and  at  times  with  great  suffering. 

"  That  the  country  will  soon  be  filled  with  emigrants,  led  on  by  the  irresistable  temptation  of- minir 
admits  of  no  doubt,  and  as  little  that  the  Indians  will  then  be  dispossesed  by  force  if  not  by  treal 

"  The  pacification  now  made,  lo  be  lasting,  must  now  be  complete ;  the  limits  of  the  Indians  shou 
mow  be  drawn,  not  to  be  again  disturbed. 

u  Influenced  by  these  views,  I  decided  to  urge  on  the  department  the  immediate  confirmation 
these  treaties,  or  of  modifications  of  them,  the  payment  of  the  stipulated  price,  and  the  opening 
the  lands  to  settlers." 

There  is  on  the  files  of  the  War  Department  the  urgent  recommendation  of  Colon 
Mansfield,  the  inspector  general  of  the  armyr  also  urging  the  confirmation  of  the 
treaties.  In  recent  letters  to  me  Colonel  Mansfield  says  •, 

"  I  have  this  mail  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  War  dfrect,  that  the  treaties  made  by  you  in  tl 
department  be  confirmed  without  further  delay,  and  I  have  urged  it  strongly.  They  must  not  1 
over  another  year ! 

"Now,  lastly,  urge  the  confirmationn  of  the  treaties  with  the  Indians,  I  have  reported  to  tl 
effect  without  exception  and  have  urged  it  strongly." 


Only  «.  few  d&ys  since  there  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  the  report  of  Judge  Mott,  who 
went  out  to  that  country  as  a  commissioner,  and  who  exemined  into  these  treaties, 
and  has  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  not  only  justice  to  the  Indians,  but  the  very 
peace  of  the  country,  and  a  great  saving  to  the  national  treasury,  are  dependent 
upon  their  confirmation.  After  most  earnestly  recommending  the  ratification  of  all 
the  treaties  made  with  the  Indian  tribes  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  now  before  the 
Senate,  Judge  Mott  says : 

"  Whilst  it  is  true,  that  a  ratification  of  these  treaties  may  increase  the  expenditures  of  the  Indian 
service  for  a  time,  it  is  perfectly  apparent  to  my  mind,  that  it  will  obviate  a  further  necessity  for  the 
large  appropriations  required  for  the  army  service  and  war  debts — the  subduing  a  people  made 
hostile  by  a  '  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish  policy' — and  that  it  will  in  the  end  prove  to  be  the  most 
economical  course  we  could  adopt. 

"  The  •  ourse  hitherto  pursued  by  Congress,  of  voting  appropriations  utterly  inadequate  to  discharge 
our  nalional  obligations  to  the  aboriginees,  followed  by  the  heavy  expenditures  thereby  necessarily 
entailed  on  the  War  Department,  besides  being  amenable  to  many  other  objections,  has,  with  the 
usual  fate  of  a  parsimonious  policy,  proved  to  be  the  most  expensive  in  the  end. 

"  We  have  taken  from  this  people  a  country,  some  of  which  is  as  fine  as^ever  the  sun  shone  upon  ; 
we  have  made  millions  of  money  by  the  bargains  we  compel  them  to  accept ;  and  yet  refuse  to  com 
ply  with  our  portion  of  the  contract.  Justice,  humanity,  and  every  principle  of  fair  dealing,  impe 
riously  demand  the  ratification  of  these  treaties'" 

I  allude,  sir,  to  these  facts,  inasmuch  as  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  cram  Captain 
Cram's  report  down  our  throats  on  various  occasions.  I  refer  to  it  to  show  how  re 
liable  his  statements  are  in  reference  to  the  Indian  treaties.  His  statements  will  be 
found  equally  reliable,  when  treating  of  the  volunteer  operations  in  these  Territories. 
If  gentlemen  had  any  doubt  about  the  disturbances  of  lS55-'56,  it  would  seem  that 
the  recent  Indian  war  in  Washington  Territory  would  i-Smove  these  doubts.  This 
war  was  not  brought  on  by  the  outrages  of  the  white  inhabitants,  as  was  alleged  in 
the  case  of  the  war  of  1855-'56,  for  there  were  no  white  inhabitants  amongst  the 
Indians  who  brought  on  this  war.  This  war  was  not  brought  on  by  the  movement 
of  the  volunteers,  for  there  were  no  volunteers  in  the  field;  but  it  was  an  affair  ex 
clusively  between  the  regular  troops  and  the  Indians.  It  would  seem  that  the  war 
of  1858  -commencing  by  the  defeat  of  Steptoe,  and  which  ended  in  the  brilliant  and 
successful  operations  of  Wright  and  Garnett,  under  the  lead  of  the  able,  energetic, 
and  gallant  veteran  General  Clarke,  would  show  the  true  condition  of  our  Indian 
relations.  Sir,  the  combination  of  hostile  tribes  of  1858,  in  extent  and  magnitude, 
did  not  compare  with  the  magnitude  of  the  combination  of  1855-'56,  for  last  season 
it  was  simply  the  tribes  east  of  the  Cascades,  but  in  185o-'56  the  flames  of  war 
spread  over  the  country  both  west  and  east  of  the  Cascades.  In  1855-'56,  the  com 
bination  was  infinitely  more  formidable  even  east  of  the  Cascades,  than  was  the 
combination  of  1858;  yet,  last  year  it  required  the  very  utmost  exertions — it  re 
quired  that  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Pacific  should  send  to  the  Gila  and  to 
every  part  of  California  to  collect  troops.  Three  months  were  occupied  in  concen 
trating  these  troops  in  the  Walla  Walla  and  preparing  for  the  field.  Two  columns, 
numbering  nearly  one  thousand  men,  were  organized  and  sent  against  the  enemy, 
and  such  were  the  preparations  and  such  was  the  campaign  required  to  suppress  the 
lat«  disturbances.  But,  I  will  assume,  as  I  have  a  right  to  assume,  that  the  question 
of  the  necessity  of  calling  out  the  volunteers  of  1855-'56  is  practically  admitted; 
that  we  have  not  to  come  before  this  Congress  to  argue  this  question,  but  that  we 
stand  here  to  demand  of  this  Congress  the  payment  of  our  just  dues;  and  to  this 
point  1  shall  direct  my  observations. 

I  have  said  that  the  Third  Auditor  of  the  Treasury  has  made  an  examination  into 
these  accounts,  that  he  has  reported  to  the  House  the  result  of  that  examination, 
that  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  have  submitted  to  this  House  resolutions  re 
ferring  the  whole  matter  back  to  the  Auditor,  and  that  the  House  has  actually  re 
ferred  the  matter  back  for  report. 

Xow,  sir,  the  last  Congress  passed  a  law  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  it  sent  out 
a  Commission  to  that  Territory,  which  Commission,  after  a  laborious  examination  of 
one  year,  reported  upon  the  amount  due  to  the  territorial  governments  of  Oregon 
and  Washington,  in  consequence  of  that  war.  I  give  the  law  in  full : 

"  SEC.  11.  And  ~be  itfurther  enacted,  That  the  Secretary  of  War  be  directed  to  examine  into  the 
amount  of  expenses  necessarily  incurred  in  the  suppression  of  Indian  hostilities  in  the  late  Indian 
war  in  Oregon  and  Washington  by  the  territorial  governments  of  said  Territories,  for  the  maintain- 
ance  of  the  volunteer  forces  engaged  in  said  war,  including  pay  of  volunteers,  and  that  he  ma}\  '.f 
in  his  judgment  it  be  necessary,  direct  a  Commission  of  three  to  proceed  to  ascertain  and  report  tj 
him  all  expenses  incurred  for  purposes  above  specified." 

I  may  now  ask  why  was  this  course  pursued  ?  Why  were  Commissioners  directed 
to  proceed  to  that  country  to  make  that  examination!  Why  did  not  this  Congress 


do  as  the  present  House  has  done — refer  it  at  once  to  the  Third  Auditor?  Why  d 
it  not  direct  the  Secretary  of  War  to  call  upon  the  territorial  governments  to  fo 
ward  their  reports  of  the  war  claims  to  the  Third  Auditor  in  order  that  they  mig' 
be  examined  in  his  office?  Mr.  Chairman,  the  reason  is  obvious.  It  was  an  ir 
practicable  tiling  for  an  examination  to  be  had  in  any  office  in  this  city.  If  Congre 
had  taken  this  course  of  referring,  in  the  first  instance,  the  whole  question  to  tl 
Third  Auditor,  it  would  have  devolved  upon  him  duties  which  he  could  not  ha1 
performed,  and* for  that  reason  it  wisely  and  properly  directed  a  Commission  to  pr 
ceed  to  that  country  to  inquire  into  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Now,  si 
two  of  the  three  members  of  that  Commission  were  officers  of  the  army  who^hs 
served  for  long  years  in  that  country;  they  were  familiar  with  its  population  ar 
resources;  they  were  familiar  with  prices;  they  were  familiar  with  the  Indians 
that  country;  they  combined  in  their  two  persons  the  whole  experience  of  the  cou 
try  which  was  the  theatre  of  the  war,  for  the  President  of  the  Commission,  Capta 
A.  J.  Smith,  had  served  in  southern  Oregon,  and  was  familiar  with  the  Rogue  Riv 
war. 

Captain  Ingalls  was  the  principal  quartermaster  for  the  district  of  the  Columb 
river,  and  was  familiar  with  all  the  operations — with  the  movements  of  the  troof 
and  with  the  cost  of  supplies  and  transportation,  both  of  the  volunteers  and  re 
ulars. 

Well,  sir,  these  two  officers  of  the  army,  with  my  friend  from  Oregon  who  no 
sits  on  my  right,  (Mr.  GROVER,)  who  had  served  on  previous  Commissions  to  the  a 
ceptance  of  the  Government  and  of  the  people  of  Oregon,  who  participated  in  tl 
operations  of  the  troops  in  this  campaign,  both  in  Oregon  and  Washington  Territ 
ries,  constituted  that  Commission.  They  took  sworn  testimony  as  to  the  pric< 
in  order  to  determine  what  was  justly  due,  and  they  made  their  awards  acco 
dingly. 

Now,  sir,  is  the  report  of  such  a  Commission,  made  from  facts  within  their  OM 
knowledge,  and  from  sworn  testimony  taken  before  them,  worthy  of  the  consider 
tion  of  this  House?  Is  it  worthy  of  as  much  consideration  as  the  report  of  tl 
Third  Auditor  of  the  Treasury,  upon  which  this  House  has  referred  these  claims  ba< 
for  readjustment?  Sir,  I  have  no  question  of  the  honesty  of  that  officer,  and  th 
he  will  make  up  his  report  from  the  best  information  within  his  possession.  But 
submit  to  this  Committee  that,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  that  report  w: 
bear  upon  its  face  the  marks  of  absurdity.  Sir,  the  report  of  the  Third  Auditc 
upon  which  this  House*  has  founded  its  action,  is  unjust  to  the  volunteer  service, 
is  unjust  to  the  people  of  Washington  and  Oregon,  it  is  full  of  errors,  misunde 
standings,  and  false  conclusions;  and  it  has  led  this  House  to  take  action  which 
predict  will  lead  to  nothing,  because  you  have  devolved  a  duty  upon  that  offic 
which  he  has  not  the  means  of  executing. 

To  show  how  inconclusive  and  absurb  is  this  devolving  upon  officers  examinatio 
and  reports  which  can  onl}7  be  made  on  the  ground,  I  will  touch  only  upon  a  ve: 
few  of  the  points  in  the  report  which  the  Third  Auditor  has  made  to  this  House, 
erdar  to  show  the  errors  andMnconsistences  in  it,  and  the  errors  and  inconsistenci 
which  are  to  be  expected  in  any  future  report.  I  will  speak  first  in  regard  to  tl 
price  of  horses  used  in  the  volunteer  service.  The  Commission  fixed  the  maxirnu 
price  of  horses  at  §400  each,  and  the  price  ranged  from  $400  down  to  $100.  T 
Third  Auditor  finds  that  horses  were  purchased  for  the  regular  service  in  the  sar 
locality  at  prices  varying  from  $80  to  $200,  and  he  very  naturally  came  to  the  co 
elusion  that  euch  was  the  cash  price  of  horses.  Now,  sir,  I  may  very  properly  p 
the  question  to  this  Committee,  what  is  the  price  current  of  horses?  If  I  buy 
horse  and  pay  $80  for  him  to-day,  does  it  follow  that  a  horse  which  you  may  In 
for  §400  to-morrow  is  worth  simply  $80,  or  if  I  buy  a  horse  at  $400  to-day  does 
follow  that  the  animal  which  you  may  buy  to-morrow  at  $80  is  a  cheaper  hors' 
Are  horses  to  be  measured  by  a  regular  price  current  like  wheat  or  oats  ? 

Now,  sir,  these  are  the  facts  established  by  sworn  testimoney  before  that  Coi 
mission  in  regard  to  the  horses  purchased  for  the  regular  service.  They  were  most 
Indian  ponies,  or  horses  of  Spanish  blood,  with  a  few  worn  out  American  hors< 
They  were  purchased  for  the  purpose  of  remounting  the  dragoons,  under  an  ord 
from  General  Wool  prohibiting  the  payment  of  more  than  $200  for  one  horse.  Thj 
were  taken  to  Vancouver,  and  every  one  of  them,  before  a  board  of  regular  office 
was  condemned  as  unfit  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  purchased.  Not  ; 
animal  came  up  to  the  regulation  standard.  Not  one  was  fit  for  cavalry  uses.  T 
agents  who  purchased  these  horses  for  the  regular  service  gave  their  sworn  tes 
mony  that  the  horses  purchased  for  the  volunteer  service  were  every  one  up  to,  t 


\ 

dragoon  standard,  and  that  their  value  was  more  than  double  the  value  in  cash  of 
the  horses  purchased  for  the  regular  service.  That  was  the  reason  why  the  Com 
mission  fixed  the  maximum  price  at  $400.  Has  the  Third  Auditor  any  means  of 
getting  at  the  proper  cash  prices  of  the  horses  purchased  for  the  volunteer  service  ? 
Sir,  the  report  of  that  officer  upon  this  subject  does  great  injustice  to  the  purchasing 
agents  of  these  horses,  and  any  report  which  he  may  make  will,  of  necessity,  do  in 
justice,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  has  not  the  information  before  him. 

Now,  I  undertake  to  say  that  an  investigation  into  the  other  matters  contained  in 
this  report  would  show  nearly  the  same  result.  It  would  show  that  there  was 
judgment  and  care  exercised  in  the  purchase  of  supplies,  and  that  great  judgment 
and  care  was  taken  by  the  Commission  in  protecting  the  rights  of  the  Government. 
Why,  sir,  the  value  of  American  horses  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  in  Southern 
Oregon  and  at  Puget's  Sound,  at  that  period  ranged  from  $250  to  $500  cash  value. 
In  making  up  the  value  of  personal  property  to  be  taxed,  every  one  knows  that  the 
assessed  value  of  property  is  some  per  cent,  below  the  cash  value,  and  yet  the  as 
sessed  value  of  horses  in  that  country  show  these  prices. 

I  have  here  a  paper  from  Captain  Keller,  the  largest  lumber  manufacturer  on 
Puget's  Sound — a  gentleman  who  manufactures  some  12,000,000  feet  of  lumber  a 
year;  who  employs  one  hundred  and  fifty  hands;  who  keeps  two  large  steam  saw- 
mills  going  constantly;  and  who  is  one  of  the  best  informed  men  on  the  Pacific.  I 
have  here  a  statement  from  him  in  regard  to  prices,  which  I  will  make  a  part  of 
my  speech. 

It  will  appear  from  this  paper  that  for  his  mills  at  Port  Gamble,  he  paid  for  oxen 
$320  per  yoke,  and  for  mules  as  high  as  $325  each ;  and  that  hay  cost  in  San  Fran 
cisco  sixty  dollars  per  ton.  He  also  gives  many  interesting  facts  in  regard  to  the 
fluctuation  of  prices. 

Now,  sir,  what  means  has  the  Third  Auditor  for  ascertaining  these  facts?  I  sub 
mit  that  it  is  an  absurdity  to  refer  the  matter  to  him.  Unless  you  send  him  to 
Oregon  and  Washington  to  take  testimony,  he  cannot  make  up  the  report,  required 
by  the  House,  without  involving  great  injustice  in  the  proceeding. 

There  are  some  animadversions  in  the  report  of  the  Third  Auditor  in  regard  to 
our  claims,  at  which  I  have  been  very  much  surprised,  because  the  report  itself,  as 
a  general  thing,  furnishes  the  material  for  its  own  refutation  ;  and  the  only  apology 
which  I  can  find  is,  that  the  work  was  necessarily  done  in  a  short  time,  and  that 
the  Third  Auditor  was  not  able  to  give  it  a  proper  examination.  In  justice  to  him, 
it  ought  to  be  said  that  he  speaks  of  his  report  as  the  result  of  a  somewhat  cursory 
examination.  He  complains  very  much  of  the  fluctuation  of  prices  in  the  volunteer 
service.  He  speaks  of  it  as  extraordinary  and  remarkable,  while  his  own  report 
shows,  that  in  the  regular  service  the  prices  fluctuated  as  much.  In  the  fourth 
quarter  of  1855,  during  the  pendency  of  the  volunteer  operatipns,  the  quarter-mas 
ter  of  the  regular  service  in  southern  Oregon,  paid  at  Fort  Lane  for  oats,  prices 
varying  from  two  to  five  dollars  per  bushel,  and  for  hay,  prices  varying  from  thirty 
to  one  hundred  dollars  per  ton.  Which  will  be  the  cash  price  of  the  article  under 
the  recent  resolutions?  The  maximum  price  allowed  by  the  commission  for  hay 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  ton.  But  nearly  all  the  hay  was  pur 
chased  at  prices  much  under  one  hundred  dollars.  The  paper  of  Captain  Keller 
gives  many  interesting  facts  in  regard  to  the  fluctuation  of  prices  on  our  coast ;  and 
what  has  excited  the  surprise  of  the  Third  Auditor,  is  personally  known  to  all 
men  of  intelligence  and  experience  in  western  coast  matters,  as  an  e very-day  occur 
rence. 

Now,  these  remarks  in  regard  to  prices  are  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  showing 
how,  in  two  matters  of  fact,  the  Third  Auditor  has  been  led  to  a  most  unfortunate 
and  untrue  conclusion.  He  is  equally  \mfortunate  when  he  refers  to  the  subject  of 
sales,  on  which  rest,  particularly,  the  vindication  of  our  service;  because  it  is  a  fact, 
that  the  property,  after  being  deteriorated  by  long  use  through  a  rainy  and  long 
winter,  sold  in  the  aggregate  for  about  what  it  cost.  He  enumerates  particular 
articles,  such  as  pack-saddles,  riding-saddles,  and  gear  of  all  kinds,  which  sold  for  a 
small  amount,  forgetting  that  they  had  been  worn  out  in  the  service,  and  that  if  it 
had  been  a  case  of  property  in  the  regular  service,  it  would  have  been  condemned 
by  a  board  of  officers,  and  would  have  brought  nothing.  He  also  forgets  the  fact 
that,  in  the  sale  of  property  such  as  provisions,  there  was  a  considerable  surplus, 
and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  it  would  bring  even  the  cash  price  of  the  coun 
try;  for  every  one  knows  what  the  effect  is  of  throwing  upon  the  market  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions. 

Again,  he  complains  that  we  sold  more  horses  than  we  had  purchased.     He 


8 

brings  that  as  evidence  of  great  irregularity  and  great  unreliability  in  our  account 
Well,  sir,  we  lost  some  horses,  some  died  in  the  service,  and  some  were  captured  b 
the  Indians,  but  we  captured  many  from  the  Indians.  And  all  those  horses  wei 
turned  in  as  public  property  and  sold  at  public  auction.  They  were  an  inferic 
kind  of  Indian  horses,  run  down  by  service,  which  brought  the  low  price  of  whic 
the  Auditor  complains. 

Now,  sir,  the  fact  that  we  sold  more  horses  than  we  purchased  is  undeniabl 
Animals  was  captured  from  the  hostile  Indians.  There  were  stringent  orders  issue 
to  both  Territories  prohibiting  the  appropriation  of  captured  property  to  prival 
uses ;  and  such  property  was  accounted  for  and  sold,  and  the  proceeds  made  u&e  of  1 
diminish  our  debt. 

In  justice  to  the  quartermaster  and  commiasiary  general  of  the  Washington  force 
General  Miller,  who  has  come  under  the  animadversions  of  the  Third  Auditor,  an 
than  whom  there  is  not  on  that  coast  a  man  of  larger  business  capacity,  or  more  i) 
flexible  integrity,  I  desire  to  quote  from  his  official  report  passages,  showing  th 
discouraging  circumstances  under  which  our  operations  were  carried  on,  and  tt 
facts  in  regard  to  the  sales  of  our  animals  and  other  means  of  transportation. 

"  The  operations  of  the  department  under  my  charge  have  been  carried  on  ander  very  discou 
aging  circumstances.  There  was  no  ready  money  with  which  to  meet  daily  expenses.  There  we 
no  large  cities,  or  wealthy  communities,  where  supplies  could  be  purchased  for  the  immediate  ne< 
of  the  troops.  Every  thing  had  to  be  obtained,  if  possible,  for  scrip,  from  either  this  or  Oreg< 
Territory,  both  sparsely  populated,  already  impoverished  by  Indian  hostilities,  and  of  which 
large  number  of  the  inhabitants  were  in  arms  against  the  common  enemy.  In  this  Territory,  e 
pecially,  many  of  the  farmers  had  been  driven  from  their  claims — others,  with  every  disposition 
help  the  common  cause,  could  not  do  so  without  depriving  their  families  of  bread.  Notwithstan< 
ing  this,  the  conduct  of  the  citizens  has  been  worthy  of  all  praise.  Without  their  zealous  co-oper 
tion,  the  volunteers  would  have  starved. 

"  In  obedience  to  orders,  the  public  property  has  been  disposed  of  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  i 
haste  is  being  made  to  bring  the  affairs  of  the  department  to  a  close.  I  am  gratified  to  be  able 
state,  that  much  of  it  sold  at  a  high  advance  on  the  original  prices,  which  were  regarded  as  extrav 
gant  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  Yet,  horses,  which  cost  $250  to  $400,  brought  from  $200 
$600 ;  wagons,  costing  $200,  were  readily  sold  for  $300 ;  and  oxen  were  disposed  of  at  thirty  p 
cent,  above  cost.  This,  too,  after  the  property  has  been,  of  course,  deteriorated  by  six  months'  a 
tive  service. 

"  As  an  evidence  of  the  fidelity  with  which  the  public  interest  has  been  protected,  it  is  sufflcie: 
to  state  that,  whilst  five  hundred  and  seventy-one  horses  were  purchased  for  the"  service,  six  hu 
dred  have  been  turned  in  and  sold.  When  it  is  remembered  that  many  of  the  animals  have  died 
service,  and  that  many  have  been  captured  by  the  enemy,  it  will  be  seen  how  faithfully  the  anims 
purchased,  and  those  captured  at  Grand  Eonde,  have  been  accounted  for." 

How  is  it  with  sales  in  the  regular  service?  How  was  it  with  the  sale  of  the  va 
quantities  of  supplies,  transportations,  <fcc.,  at  Vera  Cruz,  at  the  close  of  the  Mes 
can  War?  How  was  it  at  a  similar  sale  at  the  Brazos?  It  is  a  matter  of  notoriet 
that  everything  was  sold  for  a  song.  How  is  it  with  the  sale  of  condemned  pro 
erty  at  military  poste ;  with  the  sale  of  horses  reported  upon  by  a  board  of  officei 
and  pronounced  unfit  for  service  ?  How  is  it  with  the  sale  of  provisions,  condemn* 
for  alike  reason?  How  is  it  with  the  sale  of  clothing,  condemned  for  a  like  reasoi 
I  know  something  about  these  sales,  and  if  the  Third  Auditor  had  gone  to  tl 
records  of  the  War  Department,  and  had  ascertained  the  prices  at  which  condemn* 
horses  and  other  property  had  been  sold  at  the  military  posts  in  Oregon  an 
Washington,  he  would  have  had  reason  to  congratulate  the  National  Treasui 
upon  the  sale  of  horses,  made  in  the  volunteer  service  of  these  territories.  The  r 
port  of  the  Auditor  shows  that  many  animals  sold  at  prices  exceeding  the  cost,  aft 
having  rendered  six  and  nine  months  service,  and  become  very  much  reduced  : 
flesh  and  fitness  for  service  in  the  operation. 

We  have,  Mr.  Chairman,  been  between  two  fires  in  that  Territory,  and  we  no 
find  ourselves  between  the  veteran  General,  who  declared  that  we  could  only  su 
sist  ourselves  by  plundering  the  Indians,  and  the  Third  Auditor,  who  Complains 
us  because  we  had  such  ample  transportation,  and  such  ample  supplies;  transport 
tions  and  supplies  which  made  it  entirely  unnecessary  for  us  to  plunder  the  Indiar 
Who  is  to  be  relied  upon?  the  Commanding  General,  or  the  Third  Auditor? 

I  will  call  your  attention  to  some  remarks  of  General  Wool,  contained  in  t 
letter  from  Bernecia,  August  4,  1856,  addressed  to  the  head  quarters  of  the  arm 
General  Wool,  referring  to  the  operations  of  Colonel  Shaw  against  the  hostile  Cayas 
and  Walla  Wallas,  uses  this  language : 

"In  doing  this,  his  object"— that  is,  the  object  of  Governor  Stevens— "was  to  provoke  a  contin 
ance  of  the  war  with  the  Walla-Wallas,  and  to  plunder  the  Indians  of  their  horses  cmd  cattle." 

And  again,  he  wrote  to  Colonel  Wright,  through  his  chief  of  staff,  Major  Macka 
under  date  of  August  2d,  as  follows : 

"  It  appears  that  Colonel  Shaw,  from  Puget's  Sound,  with  his  volunteers,  has  gone  to  the  Wall 
Walla  country.  Sis  men  can  only  be  subsisted  by  plundering  the  Indians  inthat  country.119 


Such  are  General  "Wool's  reports  in  1856;  and  now  the  Third  Auditor  speaks  with 
surprise  of  the  amount  of  our  transportations  and  our  accumulation  of  supplies,  and 
finds  fault  with  the  forecast  and  success  which  prepared  the  sinews  of  war  iu  de 
fence  of  our  people. 

Let  me  indulge  a  moment  in  reminiscence.  I  had  peculiar  feelings  as  the  Execu 
tive  of  the  Territory,  in  that  matter.  I  was  the  Indian  Superintendent,  and  I  had 
sworn  a  solemn  oath  to  protect  their  rights.  I  had  told  them  in  counsel  that  I  waa 
their  father,  and  it  was  to  me  a  matter  of  conscience,  as  well  as  a  matter  of  deter 
mination,  that  these  friendly  Indians  should  be  protected.  And  this  was  the  reason 
why  I,  a*  the  Executive,  desired  to  accumulate  supplies  and  to  get  transportation , 
so  that  the  volunteers  should  not  be  tempted  to  plunder,  to  procure  subsistence. 
And  yet  this  very  forecast,  this  very  care,  both  of  the  troops  and  of  the  Indians  who 
were  then  friendly,  is  made  a  matter  of  reproach.  How  could  we  judge  when  the 
war  would  terminate?  On  Puget  Sound,  as  I  observed  last  session,  we  had  three 
Indians  to  every  able-bodied  white  man,  and  it  was  a  country  peculiarly  fitted  for 
Indian  warfare.  The  immense  forests  on  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  afforded  the 
Indians  inaccessible  retreats,  and  the  waters  of  that  Sound  gave  them  the  means  of 
collecting  all  their  forces,  in  order  to  strike  down  any  settlement  on  its  shores. 

I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  and  that  was  the  feeling  in  both  of  the  Territories,  to 
take  time  by  the  forelock,  to  accumulate  supplies  and  means  of  transportation,  so 
that  we  could  protect  the  settlements  against  Indian  rapine  and  massacre.  And, 
sir,  if  I  were  to  be  put  in  a  similar  position,  I  cannot  tell  how  in  these  respects  I 
could  act  more  wisely,  or  deserve  better  the  approbation  qf  my  country. 

There  is  also  complaint  made  in  this  report  that  we  furnished  families  with  food. 
I  wish  I  could  speak  to  this  House  on  this  point ;  that  I  could  portray  the  condition 
of  that  most  unfortunate  and  most  distressed  people.  Why,  sir,  our  people  lived  in 
block-houses  for  six  months.  Farmers  were  driven  from  their  claims.  Three  counties 
were  wiped  out.  In  several  settlements  every  soul  was  massacred.  We  had  many 
many  families  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  They  could  not  get  away,  and  they  could 
not  get  wherewithall  to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  What  did  humanity  re 
quire?  What  did  public  duty  require?  What  did  the  precedents  furnished  by  the 
regular  service  require?  To  see  them  starve,  or  to  furnish  them  with  rations  ?  What 
is  done  in  the  regular  service  in  such  cases  ?  What  is  done  to  the  distressed  emi 
grant  families  upon  the  plains  ?  Why,  sir,  rations  are  issued  out  to  them.  Trains 
are  got  up  and  supplies  are  sent  to  them.  It  has  been  done  in  Washington.  It  has 
been  done  in  Oregon ;  and  instead  of  being  made  a  matter  of  complaint,  it  has 
always  received  the  approval  and  commendation  of  superior  authority.  That  was 
the  case  in  both  of  these  Territories.  I  little  dreamed  when  reading  in  my  youth, 
the  history  of  New  England,  of  my  native  State,  Massachusetts,  and  of  my  native 
town — arid  I  was  born  in  a  house  the  scene  of  Indian  burnings — I  little  dreamed 
that  my  fortunes  would  carry  me  to  the  extreme  Northwest  of  my  country,  and  that 
it  should  be  my  fate,  in  connection  with  its  people,  to  do  what  I  could  to  save  them 
from  the  horrors  of  an  Indian  war.  I  now  see  in  my  mind's  eye  the  early  history  of 
New  England;  and,  sir,  I  say  that  there  has  not  been  a  parallel  in  danger  and  in 
difficulty  and  in  suffering  to  the  history  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  during  the  years 
1855  and  1856.  I  say  it  without  fear  of  contradiction.  fctJCTOit 

The  Auditor  also  brings  forward,  to  the  disparagement  of  the  service,  the  fact  that 
clothing  was  issued  to  the  volunteers  when  they  were  going  out  of  service.  Did  that 
show  judgment  and  a  proper  regard  for  the  public  interest  or  not?  The  volunteers  had 
not  received  one  cent  of  money  for  their  services.  There  was  a  considerable  sum 
due  to  them.  Their  clothes  were  worn  out.  Was  it  the  duty  of  the  territorial 
authorities  to  send  them  home  naked  to  their  families,  or  to  issue  to  them  clothing 
which  was  on  hand,  at  the  scrip  prices,  and  charge  the  same  upon  the  muster  rolls? 
Which  best  protected  the  rights  of  the  Government,  the  disposition  of  this  property 
at  the  prices  for  which  they  were  purchased,  thus  involving  no  expenditure  to  the 
Treasury,  or  the  forcing  the  clothing  upon  the  market  at  public  sale  at  a  great  de 
preciation  in  value  ?  The  Auditor  finds  fault  with  the  sales,  and  he  finds  fault 
with  issues  to  discharged  volunteers.  These  were  the  simple  alternatives.  I  protest 
against  such  trifling  and  carping,  as  unworthy  of  a  public  functionary,  and  as  calcu 
lated  to  cast  discredit  upon  this  Government. 

He  seems  also  to  be  surprised  at  the  large  quantities  of  clothing  issued  to  volun 
teers  in  the  field.  The  Commission  was  acquainted  with  the  field  of  operations, 
which  explained  the  whole  matter.  The  scouts  were  made  mostly  in  heavily  tim 
bered  regions  without  trails,  in  the  rainy  weather,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  clothing 
was  many  times  greater  than  in  ordinary  service. 


10 

The  Auditor  complains  that  men  were  retained  in  service  and  obtained  pay  of  the 
Commission  after  the  volunteers  were  disbanded,  forgetting  or  not  appreciating  the 
fact,  that  these  services  were  indispensable  to  settling  the  accounts  and  preparing 
the  final  papers  for  the  action  of  the  Commission.  It  has  taken  the  Auditor  the  whole 
recess  of  Congress  to  make  a  somewhat  "  cursory  examination"  of  these  accounts  and 
papers.  Does  he  suppose,  or  does  this  Committee  suppose,  that  we  could  settle  up 
the  business  without  keeping  in  service  for  some  considerable  time  the  hoads  of  De 
partments  with  suitable  subordinates  and  assistants?  And  were  such  services  to  be 
recognized  by  the  Commission  or  this  Government?  It  was  a  service  honestly,  fairly, 
and  necessarily  rendered,  and  is  entitled  to  consideration  equally  with  service  ren 
dered  previous  to  the  disbanding  of  the  volunteers.  His  allusions  to  General  Miller 
are  entirely  gratuitous  and  unfounded.  If  he  will  take  the  trouble  to  inquire,  and 
not  proceed  rashly  to  decide,  he  will  unquestionably  find  ample  justification  for  the 
action  of  the  Commission  in  the  allowances  to  him  of  compensation,  and  so  of  the 
other  gentlemen  to  whom  he  alludes. 

Again  the  Auditor  seems  to  be  surprised  that  animals  were  purchased  or  brought 
into  service  by  appraisement,  from  the  enlisted  men  of  the  service,  and  that  there 
were  men  in  the  service  who  received  pay  for  more  than  one  horse.  He  says: 

"  Captain  Yantes'  company,  of  only  twenty-three  strong,  including  four  commissioned  officers, 
werd  also  called  out  to  protect,  the  United  States  commissioners  making  treaties  with  the  Indians, 
in  which  one  private  is  reported  for  pay  for  three  horses  in  service,  which  was  two  more  than  he 
was  entitled  to  keep." 

"  Many  of  the  owners  of  this  property,  if  not  the  greater  part  of  them,  were  members  of  Captain 
Maxous'  company,  and  an  examination  would  probably  show  that  all  of  them  were  members  of  this 
or  some  other  company." 

•  Now  the  facts  would  satisfy  even  the  Auditor  himself.     It  is  extraordinary  that 

it  should  be  made  a  reproach  against  the  service  that  the  men  of  means  in  the  coun 
try,  not  only  freely  furnished  of  their  substance  to  free  the  country  from  the  horrors 
of  an  Indian  war,  but  gave  their  own  personal  services  into  the  bargain.  For  it  is 
I  a  fact,  that  the  most  extensive  and  wealthy  of  the  farmers  and  stock-raisers  enlisted 
>  as  privates,  left  their  herds  and  fields  to  waste  and  decay,  and  marched  into  the  in 
terior,  or  operated  in  the  forests  of  Puget  Sound  and  southern  Oregon,  to  bring  back 
peace  to  their  distracted  country.  Men  enlisted  into  the  service,  furnishing  not  only 
a  horse  for  their  own  use,  but  for  their  neighbors  who  had  no  horses.  These  horses 
were  in  the  service  of  the  Territory.  No  man  had  more  than  one  horse  for  his  own 
use,  and  it  was  by  getting  horses  from  those  who  owned  horses  that  every  inau  was 
mounted.  It  seems  to  me  that  these  facts  show  the  admirable  and  patriotic  spirit 
of  our  people,  and  peculiarly  recommend  the  service  to  the  confidence  and  apprecia 
tion  of  the  country. 

The  Auditor,  moreover,  brings  up  the  case  of  company  A,  Washington  Territory 
volunteers.  He  states : 

"This  company  was  fifty-three  strong,  all  told,  and  the  roll  shows  a  service  altogether  of  8,783 
days,  and  if  it  had  so  served,  entitled  to  that  number  of  rations.  A  large  number  ot  the  members 
are  marked  on  the  roll  as  having  signed  'unmilitary  resolutions,'  and  only  seven  of  the  fifty-three, 
all  of  whom  are  marked,  are  certified  by  Colonel  E.  C.  Fitzhugh,  the  inspecting  and  mustering  offi 
cer,  as  entitled  to  an  honorable  discharge.  Of  course  the  rest  of  the  company 'were  not  so  entitled, 
and  therefore  had  no  claim  either  for  pay,  maintenance  or  any  of  the  allowances  consequent  upon 
a  military  service.  The  captain  resigned  on  the  24th  of  May ;  the  1st  lieutenant  was  suspended  on 
the  20th  of  June,  and  the  remaining  lieutenant  signed  unmilitary  resolutions.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
all  this,  the  whole  company,  except  two,  one  of  whom  deserted,  and  the  other  was  absent  without 
leave,  are  reported  for,  and  payment  for  the  United  States  recommended  by  the  board  of  commis 
sioners,  to  the  amount  of  $13,907  75,  beside  the  clothing,  &c.,  received  by  them  to  the  value  of 
$3,996  38." 

Now  it  must  be  admitted  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  secure  payment  for  this 
company,  either  by  the  Territorial  authorities  or  by  the  commission  under  false  pre 
tenses.  The  facts  are  given  precisely  as  they  occurred.  There  is  no  dispute  that 
the  service  was  rendered.  It  was  a  very  trying  and  difficult  service.  The  company 
was  raised  in  King  county,  and  did  duty  in  the  forests  of  King  county,  and  was 
stationed  not  at  Seattle,  the  only  refuge  of  that  county  for  its  citizens,  every  other 
house  having  been  burned  down,  and  a  flourishing  settlement  of  one  hundred  fami 
lies  having  been  despoiled  of  all  their  property,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  scenes  of 
Indian  rapine  and  devastation,  from  which  it  drove  the  Indians  intoxicated  with 
success  and  flushed  with  victory.  Their  scouts  and  the  roads  they  made  are  given 
in  the  official  reports.  Considering  all  these  circumstances,  the  Territorial  govern 
ment  urgently  recommended  payment  for  their  services,  and  the  commission  decided 
that  payment  ought  to  be  made.  I  think  the  Territorial  government  and  the  com 
mission  acted  in  the  spirit  of  simple  justice.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  were  it 
a  case  in  the  regular  service,  the  payment  for  service  would  have  been  essentially 


11 

made.  For  payments  there  are  made  every  month  or  two  months.  But  in  the  vol" 
uuteer  service,  no  payment  whatever  had  been  made.  It  would  have  been  most  un 
just,  considering  the  services  of  that  company,  considering  the  misfortunes  and  suf 
fering,  and  massacres,  and  burnings  with  which  their  county  was  afflicted,  considering 
the  recommendations  of  the  Territorial  government,  to  refuse  to  make  payment  for 
services  actually  rendered,  and  which  were  of  signal  value  and  of  imperative  neces 
sity. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  propose  in  these  remarks  rather  to  fasten  upon  points,  than  to  go 
into  the  whole  subject.  But  the  Auditor  has  gone  into  implied  censures  of  the 
organization  we  adopted  in  Washington  Territory  in  order  to  wage  that  war;  and 
he  has  covertly  indulged  in  slurs  against  the  service.  He  complains  because  there 
was  so  large  a  staff,  because  there  was  so  many  Quartermasters  and  Commissaries 
and  Surgeons,  and  so  many  higher  officers.  Well  the  Commission  examined  that 
matter.  What  does  the  Third  Auditor  presume  to  -know  about  those  matters? 
How  can  he  apply  the  reasons  to  the  facts?  The  military  gentlemen  of  that  Com 
mission,  men  who  served  in  that  country,  examined  that  territorial  staff  and  organi 
zation,  and  they  were  satisfied  that  the  organization  was  good  and  effective;  and 
that  the  staff  was  simply  adequate  to  the  duties  they  had  to  discharge.  It  is  proper 
to  state,  that  it  is  an  axiom  with  military  men  that  the  staff  is  not  so  much  pro 
portioned  to  the  force,  as  to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  country  over  which  that 
force  operates.  And,  sir,  in  the  extent  of  our  operations,  in  the  character  of  our 
country,  you  find  the  conclusive  and  overwhelming  reason  for  the  organization 
adopted. 

The  Auditor  complains  that  our  companies  were  small.  But  you  must  recollect 
that  our  population  was  sparse.  If  we  organized  at  all,  we  had  to  organize  in  small 
companies.  That  is  a  conclusive  refutation  of  that  objection.  v 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  a  certain  part  of  the  Report,  the  Auditor  disparages  the 
service,  by  speaking  of  it,  ''such  as  it  was."  I  have,  sir,  served  in  one  campaign  and 
five  pitched  battles.  I  have  heard  the  whistling  of  bullets;  and  I  carry  on  my  per 
son  the  marks  of  honorable  wounds  received  in  the  service  of  my  country ;  but  I 
have  never  been  in  a  service  of  such  danger  and  difficulty  as  the  service  characterized 
by  the  Auditor  "such  as  it  was."  I  make  no  special  complaint  of  the  Auditor.  It 
was  unfortunate  that  he  went  out  of  his  province  to  criticise  what  was  not  within 
his  knowledge.  When  I  returned  from  the  Blackfoot  country  to  Puget's  Sound  in 
the  months  of  November  and  December,  18f>5,  through  thousands  of  hostile  Indians 
with  a  party  of  twenty-five  men — we  moved  through  forests  and  over  mountains  for 
four  hundred  miles — not  a  man  of  my  party  believing  that  we  would  get  through, 
but  every  man  expecting  that  his  bones  would  be  left  to  whiten  upon  the  great 
plain  of  the  Columbia.  That  was  a  service  characterized  by  the  Auditor  "such  as 
it  was."  1  feel  proud  of  that  service,  not  for  myself  alone,  but  for  the  noble  devotion 
and  heroism  of  my  party;  men  who  had  crossed  the  continent  with  me  in  1853,  and 
whose  nerves  and  hearts  were  hardened  to  steel.  I  will  give  some  facts  showing 
the  imminence  of  the  danger  in  my  own  mind. 

We  had  crossed  the  Bitter  Root  mountains  in  snow  three  feet  deep,  and  had 
reached  a  camp  twenty-five  miles  from  the  first  Indian  village.  I  was  satisfied  the 
Indians  had  no  notice  of  our  coming.  They  were  reported  and  believed  to  be  hos 
tile.  My  animals  were  tired  out  and  my  men  broken  down  with  the  long  march. 
It  was  impossible  for  me  to  move  my  train  in  a  single  day  to  the  village,  and  if  I 
did  make  the  attempt,  I  was  of  opinion  that  our  movement  would  be  slow  and  strag 
gling,  and  that  we  could  not  reach  the  Indians  before  they  would  hear  of  our  com 
ing,  and  that  they  would  have  time  for  preparation.  So  I  determined  with  two 
men  to  go  in  advance  of  my  party,  and  see  whether  in  this  way,  taking  them  by 
surprise,  I  could  not  direct  their  minds  from  hostility  and  thus  insure  the  safety  of 
my  party.  So,  mounted  on  our  best  horses,  the  two  men  and  myself  with  four  friendly 
Indians  started,  leaving  directions  for  the  train  to  reach  the  village  the  following  day. 
We  moved  on  rapidly.  Soon  after  noon  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Indian  village. 
We  rode  into  the  midst  of  the  Indians,  dismounted  from  our  horses,  and  with  our 
rifles  in  one  hand,  we  offered  the  other  to  the  Indians.  They  were  taken  entirely 
by  suvprise.  They  had  not  the  slightest  intimation  of  our  approach.  Their  prepa 
ration  to  give  us  a  hostile  reception  had  only  been  abandoned  a  few  days,  as  they 
had  given  up  all  expectation  of  our  coming.  They  grasped  our  outstretched  hands, 
and  through  the  aid  of  the  friendly  Nez  Perces  their  minds  were  softened,  and  my 
party,  the  next  day,  were  received  with  kindness  by  them. 

Mr.  Chairman,  that  was  done  by  me  as  a  matter  of  judgment.  I  was  satisfied  that 
I  was  safer  with  that  tribe  with  two  men,  the  tribe  not  knowing  of  my  coming,  than 


12 

I  would  be,  they  having  notice,  with  twenty-five  men  at  my  back.  My  judgment 
was  satisfied  as  to  the  course  of  safety,  and,  thank  God,  I  did  happen  to  have  nerve 
enough  to  act  as  my  judgment  dictated.  We  moved  on  to  the  Spokane  with  the 
same  party.  It  was  these  same  Cceur  (TAlenes  and  Spokanes  who  drove  Steptoe 
and  his  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  out  of  that  country  last  season,  and  compelled 
him  to  move  ninety  miles  in  one  night,  abandoning  baggage  and  howitzers.  The 
result  of  our  interview  with  these  two  tribes  was  that  their  friendship  was  gained 
after  a  stormy  and  doubtful  conference  which  lasted  for  some  nine  days.  Before 
we  parted  from  them,  the  Indians  came  to  us  with  their  little  complaint?,  asking 
for  redress.  I  saw  that  we  had  gained  their  confidence,  and  then  I  knew  that  their 
hearts  were  mine.  Not  only  did  we  have  them  as  friends,  but  they  offered  their 
assistance,  which  was  declined. 

That  is  the  sort  of  service  that  is  represented  by  this  Auditor,  "such  as  it  was." 
It  was  a  service,  the  like  of  which  I  never  saw  before,  and  the  like  of  which  I  never 
expect  to  see  again. 

When  I  moved  from  the  Spokane,  I  did  not  know  what  -were  the  feelings  of  the 
Nez  Perces.  They  were  reported  to  be  hostile.  I  knew  that  the  chief,  Kamiakan, 
with  five  hundred  warriors,  was  at  Priest's  Rapids  on  our  flank,  and  that  Pu-pu- 
mux-mux,  with  seven  hundred  warriors,  was  on  the  Touchet  and  on  Mill  Creek  in  the 
Walla- Walla  country  blocking  up  the  road.  I  started  for  the  Spokane  with  our  pack 
animals,  carrying  only  eighty  pounds  and  twelve  days  provisions.  On  the  Spokane 
we  had  exchanged  all  our  horses  but  five,  and  got  the  best  horses  in  the  country. 
I  knew-the  country  well,  and  I  was  satisfied  that  if  we  found  all  the  Indians  hostile, 
we  could  some  way  or  other  work  our  way  to  the  settlements.  This  was  the  ser 
vice  "  such  as  it  was."  Fortunately  for  our  safety,  the  Oregon  volunteers  advanced 
upon  the  Walla-walla,  met  and  defeated  the  Indians,  and  opened  the  way  for  my 
party,  increased  to  about  fifty  men  by  the  accession  of  the  miners  from  Colville. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  desire  now  to  touch  upon  some  other  matters,  in  justice  to  indi 
vidual  companies  and  to  gentlemen  in  the  territory.  The  Auditor  has  discovered 
some  double  and  treble  payments.  I  am  glad  that  these  are  made  known.  With  one 
exception,  they  were  unknown  to  me  before.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  in  a 
new  service — and  particularly  in  the  Quartermaster's  and  Commissary's  service — mis 
takes  were  to  be  avoided,  for  even  in  the  regular  service,  and  where  there  are  train 
ed  officers,  there  are  very  often  great  difficulties  in  adjusting  and  making  out  the 
accounts.  If  the  Third  Auditor  had  gone  through  all  the  accounts,  and  had  found 
no  mistakes  in  them,  it  would  have  excited  the  suspicion  of  every  man  versed  in 
such  matters. 

Some  years  ago,  Mr.  Chairman,  while  I  was  in  the  army,  I  called  on  a  friend  of 
mine  in  one  of  the  Bureaus  of  the  War  Department,  and  we  commenced  to  converse 
about  old  acquaintances.  The  conversation  finally  turned  upon  a  person  who  had 
prided  himself  in  never  having  had  a  mistake  formed  in  his  accounts  during  a  ser 
vice  of  twenty  years.  Said  he,  "I  believe  that  man  is  dishonest.  It  never  hap 
pened  to  mortal  man,  in  a  course  of  twenty  years,  to  get  his  accounts  all  perfect. 
He  has  done  a  good  deal  of  cooking  and  working  up."  That,  is  the  invariable  impres 
sion  produced  by  these  infallible  accounts. 

If  in  our  volunteer  accounts  everything  had  been  found  right,  and  according  to 
rule  it  would  have  been  damning  evidence  against  them,  because  the  thing  is  im 
possible.  I  state  this  as  a  fact,  which  the  experience  of  the  Third  Auditor  might 
have  suggested.  It  is  sufficient,  however,  for  the  vindication  of  the  awards  of  the 
Commission,  and  for  the  vindication  of  the  people  of  the  territory,  that  they  have 
not  asked  for  the  double  or  treble  payment.  We,  acting  for  them,  have  stated,  from 
the  very  outset,  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  and  at  this,  that  we  asked  nothing  of 
that  kind.  It  was  simply  a  mistake  that  occurred,  and  that  would  have  been  as 
certained  in  any  adjustment  of  the  accounts. 

There  were  cases  however,  of  men  in  the  civil  and  Indian  service  of  the  Territory, 
who  were  also  engaged  in  its  military  service,  and  there  were  strong  reasons  in  the 
opinion  of  the  territorial  government  of  Washington,  wh}^  they  should  be  allowed 
their  pay  for  military  service,  in  addition  to  their  other  pay.  But  the  fact  of  the 
employment  in  other  service,  with  the  amount  of  compensation,  was  expressly  re 
ported  to  the  Commissioners,  and  by  them  carefully  set  forth  on  the  proper  muster- 
rolls.  There  was  no  attempt,  either  on  the  part  of  the  territorial  authorities,  or  of 
the  Commission,  to  conceal  or  evade  the  facts;  which  is  their  emphatic  and  suffi 
cient  vindication  from  the  implied  charge  of  the  Third  Auditor,  of  wrong  and  con 
cealment. 

There  is  a  certain  transaction  in  regard  to  exchange  of  property  between  the  vol- 


18 

unteer  service  and  the  Indian  service,  in  respect  of  which  the  Third  Auditor  arrives 
at  a  very  wrong  conclusion.  The  Indian  service  hired  from  the  volunteer  service, 
horses  and  mules  and  oxen,  at  fifty  cents  per  day,  per  animal,  and  wagons  at  fifty  cents 
per  day  each.  The  Third  Auditor  concluded — and  very  naturally,  perhaps — thatsjuch 
were  the  cash  prices  of  the  hire  of  animals  and  wagons  at  that  time,  whereas  the 
truth  is  that  they  were  the  scrip  prices.  That  was  what  each  day's  use  of  a  horse, 
or  mule,  or  yoke  of  oxen,  or  wagon,  cost  the  volunteer  service  in  scrip.  For  taking 
the  cost  of  the  animals  and  wagons  we  purchased,  and  deducting  from  it  the  amount 
for  which  we  sold  the  same,  and  distributing  the  balance  through  the  days  work  of 
animals  and  wagons,  we  find  the  cost  to  the  volunteer  service  was  about  fifty  cents 
per  day,  and  such  was  the  charge  made  for  their  use  against  the  Indian  service. 
Observe,  that  this  whole  matter  was  a  thing  which  grew  up  in  consequence  of  a 
particular  turn  in  affairs,  which  waa  not  anticipated  and  provided  for  in  the  begin 
ning.  The  battle  of  Grande  Ronde  was  fought,  and  a  great  victory  gained  over  the 
Indians.  They  all  seat  in  messengers  asking  for  peace.  The  Nez  Ferces,  particu 
larly,  who  had  been  friendly  up  to -that  time,  asked  me  to  go  to  the  Walla- Walla 
and  meet  them  in  council.  This  victory  and  the  changed  deportment  of  the  Indians, 
in  connection  with  the  movement  of  regular  £roops  to  the  Walla-Walla,  which 
before  that  time  had  been  refused,  as  the  officail  reports  show,  changed  the  whole 
aspect  of  affairs.  Although  I  had  issued  a  proclamation  calling  out  two  hundred 
additional  volunteers,  I  immediately  revoked  it,  and  disbanded  the  volunteers  already 
in  service  in  that  quarter  of  the  Territory;  that  left  on  hand  a  large  quantity  of 
provisions,  which  could  be  applied  with  great  advantage  to  supplying  the  wants  of 
friendly  Indians,  and  subsisting  them  at  the  council.  Thus,  supplies  purchased  for 
the  volunteer  operations,  were  applied  to  the  Indian  service,  and  at  prices  which 
provisions  bring  at  sales  where  a  large  quantity  is  thrown  upon  the  market.  It  was 
believed  simply  but  just  to  the  volunteer  service,  to  charge  the  Indian  service  pre 
cisely  what  it  cost  the  volunteer  service  to  transport  them. 

I  do  not  make  any 'complaint  of  the  deductions  of  the  Third  Auditor,  for  it  was. 
natural;  but  it  is  seen  how  indispensable  it  is  for  the  facts  to  be  known  before  a 
deduction  is  made.    These  facts  were  known  to  the  commissioners  who  examined  into 
them  all,  carefully;  and  there  was  great  care  taken  to  protect  the  interests  of  the 
Government. 

The  resolutions  to  which  reference  have  been  paid  by  which  the  whole  matter  is 
referred  back  to  the  Third  Auditor,  are  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That,  preliminary  to  the  final  settlement  and  adjustment  of  claims  of  citizens  of  the 
Territories  of  Oregon  and  Washington  for  expenses  incurred  in  the  year  l&55-'56,  in  repelling  Indian 
hostilities,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Third  Auditor  of  the  Treasury  to  examine  the  vouchers  and 
papers  now  on  file  in  his  office,  and  make  a  report  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  first  Mon 
day  in  December  next,  of  the  amounts  respectively  due  to  each  company  and  individual  engaged 
in  such  service;  taking  the  following  rules  as  his  guide  in  ascertaining  the  amounts  so  due: 

1.  He  shall  recognize  no  company  or  individual  as  entitled  to  pay,  except  such  as  were  called 
into  service  by  the  territorial  authorities  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  or  such  whose  services  have 
been  recognized  and  accepted  by  the  said  authorities. 

2.  He  shall  allow  to  the  volunteers  engaged  in  said  service  no  higher  pay  and  allowances  than 
were  given  to  officers  and  soldiers  of  equal  grade  at  that  period  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States, 
including  the  extra  pay  of  two  dollars  per  month  given  to  troops  serving  on  the  Pacific  by  the  act 
of ,  1352. 

8.  No  person,  either  in  the  military  or  civjl  service  of  the  United  States,  in  said  Territories,  shall 
be  paid  for  his  service  in  more  than  one  employment  or  capacity  for  the  same  period  of  time ;  and 
all  such  double  or  triple  allowances  for  pay  as  appears  in  said  accounts  shall  be  rejected. 

4.  That  in  auditing  the  claims  for  supplies,  transportation,  and  other  services  incurred  for  the 
maintenance  of  said  volunteers,  he  is  directed  to  have  a  due  regard  to  the  number  of  said  troops, 
to  their  period  of  service,  and  to  the  prices  current  in  the  country  at  the  time,  and  not  to  report  said 
service  beyond  the  time  actually  engaged  therein,  nor  to  recognize  supplies  beyond  a  reasonable 
approximation  to  the  proportions  and  descriptions  authorized  by  existing  laws  and  regulations  for 
such  troops,  taking  into  consideration  the  nature  and  peculiarity  of  the  service. 

6.  That  all  claims  of  said  volunteers  for  horses,  arms,  and  other  property,  lost  or  destroyed  in  said 
service,  shall  be  audited  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  approved  March  3, 1849. 

These  resolutions  not  only  direct  the  Auditor  to  scale-the  prices  to  the  cash  prices 
in  our  country,  which  he  has  not  and  cannot  have  the  information  to  do,  but  also 
directs  him  to  decide  as  to  the  quantity  of  supplies  and  transportation  received  for 
the  service,  a  duty  which  the  Third  Auditor  will  be  equally  impotent  to  perform. 

But,  in  face  of  the  known  facts  as  to  prices  in  that  country,  these  resolutions  for 
bid  the  Auditor  to  allow  more  than  §200  for  the  appraised  value  of  a  horse,  and  it 
is  obvious  that  every  purchase  of  horses  will  be  reduced  to  that  price  by  the  Third 
Auditor.  It  matters  not  that  horses  at  private  sale  bring  from  $800  to  $500.  It 
matters  not  that  the  people  are  taxed  for  their  horses  at  the  same  rates.  It  matters 
not  that  all  these  purchases  were  made  by  contract,  and  that  governmental  faith  is 
involved.  They  must  all  be  brought  to  the  bed  of  Procrustes.  Because  General 


Wool  bought  a  few  worthless  Indian  ponies  and  worn  out  American  horses,  for  from 
$80  to  $200,  every  one  of  which  was  condemned  as  unfit  for  service;  therefore  the 
large,  strong-limbed,  serviceable,  and  hardy  American  horses  of  the  volunteers,  which 
were  fit  for  service,  which  did  come  up  to  the  regulation  standard,  which  went  through 
long  and  severe  campaigns,  living  simply  on  grass,  and  which  enabled  the  volunteers 
to  strike  the  hardest  blows,  and  achieve  the  greatest  victories  over  the  Indians,  which 
were  struck  and  achieved  either  by  volunteers  or  regulars,  are  to  be  paid  for  at  rates 
from  $80  to  $200.  This  course  is  not  only  unjust  to  our  people,  but  disgraceful  to 
our  Government.  , 

The  resolutions  nominally  propose  to  give  the  volunteer  the  same  pay  as  the  reg 
ular  service.  But,  practically,  they  do  not.  For,  in  the  regular  service,  every  man 
enlisted  in  Oregon  and  Washington  is  paid  onehundred  and  forty-two  dollars  bounty 
money,  that  being  the  estimated  cost  of  transporting  recruits  to  that  district  from 
the  Atlantic  depots.  It  cost  $150,000  to  transport  the  ninth  regiment  of  infantry  to 
Fort  Vancouver,  and  $50,000  more  before  they  reached  their  appropriate  field  of  labor 
in  the  interior.  Yet,  an  amendment  offered  to  these  resolutions,  proposing  to  pay 
the  bounty  to  the  volunteers  to  make  their  pay  equal  in  every  respect  to  that  of  the 
regular  service,  was  voted  down. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  gives  peculiar  weight  to  these  claims,  and 
which  entitles  the  territorial  authorities  and  the  Commission  to  the  confidence  of  this 
Congress.  The  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  service  were  promptly  and  minutely 
reported  to  this  Government  through  the  War  Department,  just  as  they  occurred. 
For  myself,  as  the  Executive  of  Washington,  I  took  especial  care  to  report  carefully 
by  every  mail,  not  only  what  had  been  done,  but  what  was  proposed  to  be  done. 
These  reports  have  all  been  published  by  order  of  Congress,  and  are  therefore  within 
the  official  knowledge  of  the  members  of  this  committee.  Did  the  Government  dis 
approve  of  the  operations  of  the  territorial  authorities?  They  gave  not  a  single  in 
timation  of  disapproval.  Did  they  direct  the  disbanding  of  the  volunteers?  Nothing 
of  the  kind. 

I  reported  in  May  the  probable  expenses  of  the  service  in  Washington  Territory, 
and  the  probable  length  of  time  it  would  be  necessary  to  keep  the  volunteers  in  the 
field.  Whilst  I  expressed  my  determination  to  keep  down  expenses  to  the  lowest 
possible  point,  and  to  bring  the  service  to  a  close  at  the  earliest  possible  period,  I 
expressed  the  opinion  in  May  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  estimate  that  the  expenses 
would  be  less  than  between  one  million  nine  hundred  thousand  and  two  millions  of 
dollars.  The  commission,  after  a  laborious  and  faithful  examination,  report  the  debt 
about  three  quarters  of  that  amount.  The  indebtedness  was  kept  down  so  much 
below  the  estimates,  partly  \>y  our  care  and  success  in  reducing  the  expenses  and 
length  of  the  service,  and  partly  by  good  judgment  and  good  fortune  in  disposing 
by  sale  of  the  public  property  left  on  our  hands  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  like  manner,  as  the  Indian  superintendent,  I  reported  in  great  detail  to  the  In 
dian  Department  all  my  operations  in  the  Indian  service,  which  reports  have  also 
been  published  by  order  of  Congress,  and  I  defy  the  most  censorious  and  the  most 
prejudiced  to  read  consecutively  my  reports  in  the  Indian  and  military  service,  with 
out  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  the  most  perfect  and  immovable  deter 
mination  so  to  manage  affairs  as  to  bring  to  a  conclusion  a  most  disastrous  Indian 
war,  to  protect  the  Indian  tribes  in  all  their  rights,  and  to  conduct  the  service  in  a 
manner  which  should  deserve  the  commendation  of  all  good  men  who  truly  love 
their  country,  and  desire  the  advancement  of  its  honor  and  renown. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  protest  against  the  action  of  this  House;  I  protest 
against  the  report  of  the  Third  Auditor;  I  stand  fairly  and  squarely  on  the  act  of 
the  last  Congress  that  established  this  Commission,  and  I  demand,  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  Washington,  that  payment  be  made  according  to  the  awards  of  that  Com 
mission, 


Statement  of  J.  P.   KELLER,  of  Teelcalet,    Washington  Territory,   on  the  subject  of 
claims  growing  out  of  Indian  hostilities  in  said  Territory. 

The  Puget  Mill  Company,  of  which  lam  a  member,  has  been  established  atTeeka* 
let,  in  Washington  Territory,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  and  in 
mercantile  business,  since  the  summer  of  1853.  During  all  that  time,  I  have  been 
the  acting  agent  of  said  company,  and  have  had  ample  means  of  knowing  the  pri 
ces  of  labor,  provisions,  supplies,  and  in  fact  of  all  descriptions  of  exchangeable 
property  on  Puget's  Sound.  The  company  has  constantly  kept  in  its  employ  a  large 
number  of  laborers,  and  has  now  in  its  employ  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Our  stock  of  goods,  for  the  last  three  or  four  years,  has  averaged  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  chiefly  provisions,  clothing,  <fec. 

At  the  commencement  of  Indian  hostilities  in  1855,  and  during  their  continuance, 
prices  of  labor,  provisions,  and  supplies,  at  Puget's  Sound,  ruled  very  high,  and, 
with  some  fluctuations,  have  so  continued  ever  since. 

I  think  I  am  perfectly  safe  in  saying  that  labor  at  Puget's  Sound  has  commanded 
higher  prices,  from  1853  to  1858,  than  in  any  other  State  or  Territory  in  the  United 
States. 

The  price  of  day  labor  has  generally  ruled  from  $2  to  $4,  with  boarding  found  by 
the  employer,  during  said  five  years,  and  sometimes  higher.  Officers  of  the  army 
have  been  compelled  to  pay  day  laborers  $4,  and  sometimes  more.  The  price  per 
month,  with  boarding  found,  has  ranged  from  $35  to  $150,  according  to  the  kind  of 
service  performed. 

The  Puget  Mill  Company  has  had  in  its  employ  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  during  the  time  aforesaid,  at  the  above  rates.  All  other  companies  and 
individuals  employing  laborers  have  been  paying  about  the  same  rates. 

Prices  of  provisions  and  supplies  of  all  kinds,  during  said  time,  differed  much,  in 
consequence  of  difference  in  times  when,  and  places  where,  delivered  or  furnished, 
and  according  to  supply  and  demand — as  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  the  prices 
of  many  articles  sometimes  varied  much  in  the  markets  from  which  they  had  to  be 
obtained. 

Flour  was  refused  at  offers  of  $16  in  the  course  of  the  war,  and  reached  $15  in 
San  Francisco,  in  April,  1856. 

Pork  and  beef  (good  articles)  have  generally  ruled  at  from  $30  to  $50  for  the  last 
five  years — beef  having  sometimes  exceeded  the  price  of  pork.  Pork  was  selling  at 
$45  per  bbl.  on  Poget's  Sound,  in  the  spring  of  1858,  and  I  think  reached  that  price 
in  San  Francisco  about  the  same  time.  Prices  ruled  high  for  nearly  a  year  previous. 
Up  to  and  during  the  time  of  the  war,  all  salted  beef  and  pork  was  obtained  from 
San  Francisco,  and  were  very  scarce  at  times  on  Puget's  Sound,  during  the  war. 

In  April  or  May,  1856,  barley  was  4£  cents  per  lb.,  and  hay  $60  per  ton,  in  San 
Francisco.  Sugar  and  many  other  articles  have  frequently  reached  high  rates  at 
San  Francisco  during  the  last  five  years ;  say  cargo  sales  of  sugar  at  18f,  coffee  22|, 
<fcc.,  as  all  know  who  have  noted  the  market  prices.  Soap,  candles,  <fcc.,  have  often 
been  very  high  during  the  same  time.  All  these  articles,  which  had  to  be  obtained 
from  San  Francisco,  of  course  commanded  higher  rates  on  Puget's  Sound. 

The  contract  to  supply  the  military  post  at  Fort  Townsend,  for  1857,  with  fresh 
beef,  was  at  22-J  cents  per  lb.,  and  the  contractor  failed,  to  supply  at  that  price, 
for  the  full  year. 

The  price  of  working  oxen  per  pair  has  ruled  from  $250  to  $320,  for  the  five 
years  last  past,  on  Puget's  Sound.  The  latter  price  was  agreed  upon  at  Fort  Town- 
send,  for  a  pair,  in  May,  1858,  for  the  Puget  Mill  Company,  when  it  was  known  that 
it  would  cost  $20  to  deliver  them  where  they  could  be  put  to  work. 

But  very  few  pairs  of  oxen  have  cost  less  than  $275,  delivered  at  the  mills  of  the 
Puget  Mill  Company,  since  the  summer  of  1853.  The  company  has  bought  hun 
dreds  of  oxen  since  that  time,  and  has  from  thirty  to  forty  pairs  now. 

We  do  not  use  horses,  but  two  mules  cost,  delivered  at  our  mills,  one  $286  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  and  the  other  $325  in  the  spring  of  1858. 


16 


I  cannot  testify  as  to  the  justice  or  fairness  of  all  the  accounts  approved  by  the 
commissioners  who  examined  and  reported  upon  the  claims  growing  out  of  Indian 
hostilities  in  Oregon  and  Washington.  1  can  say,  however,  that  in  many  instances 
prices  that  have  been  objected  to  as  extravagantly  high,  and  which  would  so  appear 
to  any  one  not  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  under  which  the  contracts  were 
made  or  the  supplies  furnished,  are  in  fact  but  reasonable  and  just. 

The  Puget  Mill  Company  furnished  large  amounts  of  provisions  and  supplies  for 
the  troops  during  the  war.  These  were  all  purchased  of  the  company  by  Quarter 
master  Robinson,  except  about  $2,700  worth  furnished  Captain  I.  N.  Ebey,  at  the 
commencement  of  hostilities,  and  which  were  furnished  at  lower  rates  than  could  be 
afforded  afterwards.  * 

The  supplies  furnished  Quartermaster  Robinson  by  the  company  were  principally 
furnished  upon  contracts  made  at  his  earnest  solicitation,  and  not  sought  by  the 
company.  The  company  was  earnestly  solicited  to  contract  for  furnishing  further 
supplies,  but  refused.  They  consisted  principally  of  provisions  purchased  by  the 
company  at  San  Francisco,  to  be  delivered  on  Puget's  Sound,  eight  hundred  miles 
distant,  at  stated  times.  In  order  to  fulfill  these  contracts,  the  company  was  obliged 
to  divert  a  large  amount  of  its  capital  from  channels  in  which  it  could  have  been 
profitably  employed,  as  well  as  to  incur  heavy  lia'uiJitie.  which  have  been  very  em 
barrassing  to  the  prosecution  of  their  regular  business.  Something  of  course  had  to 
be  added  to  prices,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  these  large  amounts  from, 
a  distant  market  at  short  time,  and  the  uncertainty  of  getting  their  pay  in  a  reason 
able  time,  or,  rather,  the  certainty  that  a  good  deal  of  time  would  elapse  before  pay 
ment.  Experience  has  proved  that  the  additions  made  to  prices  on  these  accounts 
were  not  sufficient  to  indemnify  the  company  for  the  risks  incurred. 

I  would  here  remark,  that  a  comparison  of  the  prices  paid,  or  contracted  to  be 
paid,  for  provisions  and  supplies,  during  the  war,  with  the  prices  at  which  the  same 
or  similar  articles  were  sold  at  auction,  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  affords  no 
just  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  the  reasonableness  of  said  contract  prices.  These 
auction  sales  took  place  at  a  time  when,  in  consequence  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities, 
cash  pi'ices  had  been  much  reduced,  generally,  on  Puget's  Sound,  and  threw  upon 
the  market  many  articles  which  were  not  wanted  by  the  community  in  which  the 
sales  took  place. 

"Where  prices  received  at  these  sales  are  referred  to,  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  market  prices  at  Puget's  Sound  during  the  war,  they  are  only  calculated  to  mis 
lead  and  deceive. 

The  prevailing  rate  of  interest  on  Puget's  Sound,  since  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
has  been  from  one  to  three  per  cent,  per  month,  ruling  at  two  per  cent,  and  upwards. 
The  legal  rate  of  interest  in  the  Territory  is  ten  per  cent,  per  anmim,  but  money 
cannot  be  obtained  at  that  price.  The  money  invested  by  the  Puget  Mill  Company, 
in  furnishing  said  supplies,  could  have  been  safely  invested  at  an  interest  of  two  per 
cent,  per  month. 

When  hostilities  commenced,  the  company  were  without  arms,  and  immediately 
dispatched  a  boat  and  six  men  to  Victoria,  Vancouver's  Island,  seventy  miles  dis 
tant,  where  they  purchased  to  the  amount  of  about  $400,  and  returned  after  an  ab 
sence  of  a  week.  The  company  built  a  block-house,  and  furnished  arms,  ammunition, 
and  provisions,  and  defended  themselves  throughout  the  war.  Families  from  Whid- 
by's  Island  came  to  our  station,  twenty-five  miles,  for  safety,  and  occupied  our 
block-house  a  portion  of  the  time.  For  all  these  expenditures  by  the  company,  no 
charge  has  yet  been  rendered. 

J.  P.  KELLER. 


